High-Fructose Corn Syrup -- Another Poison in Common Foods

After starting the Aspartame thread about an important health issue, I thought to start another one on this topic.

This Washington Post blog has some good information to start w/ on this subject. The content is about a lawsuit regarding if something is all-natural.

The heart of the matter deals w/ how high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used to fatten up people w/ no end in sight, let alone the addictive nature of the stuff.

In his groundbreaking book FatLand, Greg Critser breaks down exactly how HFCS is metabolized by the human body. In short, because our bodies have absolutely no way of understanding this highly engineered substance…they convert it into storage material and chuck it away…hence we are fattened up.

The explanation goes like this: glucose molecules, which are the building blocks of sucrose, can be metabolized (used, eaten) by any and every cell in the human body. This is not so with Fructose. It has to be metabolized through the liver. Hence, your liver ends up releasing triglycerides into your bloodstream and generally has trouble dealing with this weird substance.

That's a clip from this site about the weight gaining issue of the substance.

At the aspartame thread, I noticed people having all sorts of withdrawal, side effects and horror stories just from diet sodas. The problem is, these poisons are in all sodas, aside from ones that are all-natural.... this article claims the substance is toxic and the potential cause of diabetes in some.

Some of the posts on this site were eye-opening:

A single 12 oz. can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar and over three times the calories of a serving of chicken noodle soup. If you serve a child Campbell's chicken noodle soup and an A&W root beer for lunch, that child is getting over 3/4 of his calories from HFCS--and that's a typical meal for American kids. They may even have two sodas, some "fruit snacks," and an ice cream. Maybe mom will cook some Kraft macaroni and cheese, thinking the kids haven't gotten enough "food" in their fat little stomaches.

We need to demonize HFCS. It's junk food. Non-nutritional poison. There is no good reason anyone should be drinking or eating it.

You don't see an obesity problem in North Korea. Do you know why? The U.S. embargo doesn't allow them to import sugary sodas.

It's time we impose an embargo on U.S. citizens. Ban the wholesale commercial distribution of junk food outright.

Lastly, here's a blog which brings up the obesity issue differently.

Remember this is a common ingredient found in almost any food that's not health-conscious or organic. Check some of your labels around the house and start working to replace HFCS!

Good thing I've a natural aversion to non-honey sweet stuff. I only take honey as sweeteners, and only honey from the jungle (that stuff is potent!)

Funny you mention that Beachcoma, between honey and maple syrup -- those are probably two of the only 'sweeteners' that aren't bad for you!

This was one of the topics on coast to coast last night.

I do have to disagree with this quote though

"You don't see an obesity problem in North Korea. Do you know why? The U.S. embargo doesn't allow them to import sugary sodas."

That would be similar to saying that you don't see obesity in Ethiopia because we they don't drink soda. The fact of the matter is that North Korea is a country that can barely feed its people. I am pretty sure that the lack of Coca Cola is not the main reason for a lack of obesity.


I do agree though, it is frightening what we put into our bodies these days. When you start looking into food ingredients, ignorance really is bliss.

Agreed Karlhungis..... but it's good that the N Koreans are disarming their nukes and looking for AID instead. The quote/sentence was in bad taste.

Didn't know it being a topic of CTC last night, it's on too late in my area (2am) to ever get to listen to the show. When I was on the west coast, I'd listen every night. Wish they'd sync it to a reasonable time worldwide.

There's a lot of natural sweetners. Pure cane, Gava, Grade D maple, honey, etc... I don't understand why people overlook these so often. Any and I mean ANY food that is PROCESSED has negative if not neutral effects on your body.

People would lose their S*** if they knew how amazing you feel once you drop the 1.8 hamburgers a day, pepsi, and fried chicken. What's better than eating amazing natural foods, having a natural 8 pack or at least carrying weight, never gaining excess weight, and lowering your daily impact on the environment. I don't think I'll ever understand.

Coke has been a staple of my diet since I was 5, along with microwave dinners, fast food and the now-extinct home cooked meal. I'm still alive but probably extremely unhealthy, although I'm not fat (really underweight actually) it does make you feel "heavier". I'll look up when they started putting HFCS in coke to see how much irreparable damage i've done to my body. Truth hurts. Most people are probably in alot of pain without even knowing. It's something you slowly get used to, and whatever's in coke makes it feel better temporarily. I get headaches if I don't drink one for a day. If you are what you eat, I'm a quivering, hulking mass of meat byproduct and toxic chemicals.


Great thread. More people need to be warned.

Originally posted by rationalgaze
I get headaches if I don't drink one for a day.

Could be the dependence on caffeine. If I recall my Substance Abuse textbook correctly, Coke's got more caffeine than the average cup of coffee or tea. Headaches are a common side effect of caffeine dependence.

The thing w/ caffeine dependence is once you break the spell and get thru the two days of death headaches, that's it, you're free. I like coffee/green tea, sure the latter is good for me and not addictive which is how I try to arrange my week. No coffee all week, should I *need* some, soy milk and no sugar -- and green teas all week. On weekends, I usually get a latte or two w/ skim milk since the soy mix, to me, is waaaaay too sweet.

It's sickening how Coke/Pepsi has capitalized on this market for decades. That is a good search, when HFCS was put in the drink(s). Either way, coffee is better for you (high in antioxidants) then SODA any day of the week.

And yes, any sugar(s) are cause for alarm w/ being overweight. I am in-shape but don't touch sugars unless they're natural. There's a couple more, that I'm aware of, food conspiracies out there but these seem to be the worse.

What better a day, then Monday morning to try and kick that SODA habit, even if you *need* the caffeine, try to reduce/replace it w/ GREEN TEAS or even coffee until you can get a new routine worked out -- it's worth it for your health and mentality in the long run.

Edit: also, if you're in need of energy for fatigue, the best herbal remedy is WHEATGRASS shots or tablets/pills. The shots can account for almost two days of needed green vegetables and the energy produced can keep you active all day. Any juicer sells them and for those w/ chronic fatigue, try the tablet/pills for longer-acting relief.

I used to have to work long hours and more 'work' w/ a musical group by night, wheatgrass was the cure to keep me going in those days. Plus, it doesn't have any dependence/caffeine side effects. Warning: the 'juice' shot has a, um, specific taste -- some actually don't mind it, me, I get the gag reflex but I have a light stomach that can't handle anything, even two to three beers gets me ill.

[edit on 15-10-2007 by anhinga]

reply to post by rationalgaze


Your headaches are from your body trying to naturally level out your insulin levels due to your rapid and fluctuating intake of processed sugars and simple carbohydrates everyday. It could also have to do with your body being addicted to the small little doses of caffeine hits. When I went on a 14 day fast, I had the worst headaches for the first 2 days and I read it was because my body was weaning itself off of the unhealthy/highly processed/highly addictive diet.

Deadflag -- you did that fast? I want to do the 2-week fast w/ nothing but maple syrup, lemon juice and (some sort of) pepper. Supposedly that's the best detox there is aside from a couple of more hardcore ones. I'd like to try it but have some health issues that might prevent me from doing so, tell me, how was the fasting overall?

beachcoma: Thanks for clearing that up. I figured that's what it was, since I used to think caffeine was the main cause of coke's unhealthiness. Also, I feel that my body has adapted to accept more toxic foods with less damage. Is this even possible? Am I a human waste disposal?


Do they expect you to moderate your daily dosage of high fructose corn syrup, enriched wheat flour and addictive substances in a healthy manner?

Honestly, I feel a bit hopeless now.

[edit on 15-10-2007 by rationalgaze]

reply to post by anhinga


Cayenne pepper. Yeah, the end results were amazing. I looked like a greek statue. haha.. But going through it was hellish. I wouldn't recommend the "Lemonade Cleanse" but you should get a juicer and do an organic vegetable cleanse. I cleanse every 3 months for 7 days with organic carrot, celery, radish, and bell pepper and it's much easier and I think overall more healthy for you considering the amount of vitamins you receive with the veg cleanse.

When I made the move to Japan to live on the US Navy base there, from Australia, I began reading labels on everything I bought at the commissary (initially out of pure curiosity, I'm no health nut but I care about what I eat) and it's in practically everything! I had never before even heard of it in all my 26 years in Australia but now I find myself surrounded by it. I am so glad I looked into exactly what it was and have been avoiding it at every opportunity ever since.
It's disappointing to see it so commonly used and to see so many people oblivious to the fact that it is more than likely not doing them any good.

Trans fats are another new term in my day to day. Ahh well.

Those of us who are "into" health know all about stevia. This is a very powerful natural sweetener, extracted from South American plants much as sugar is extracted from cane. One can find stevia in health food stores, but it is not allowed as an ingredient in processed foods. Why not? The typical statist would say "because it is not shown to be proven safe and effective" which is FDA-speak for "because we didn’t say you could use it."
Call me a conspiracy realist, but I doubt that "safe and effective" had much to do with the FDA deciding to ban stevia. Nothing drives this point home better than this little tidbit: the FDA initially labeled stevia as an "unsafe food additive" after an anonymous complaint. (Yes, an anonymous complaint!) You simply cannot make this stuff up.

But stevia has been used by other cultures for thousands of years with no ill effects. Yes, thousands of years. If it’s so dangerous, why are we in the U.S. alone on Earth in recognizing the danger? In Japan the government will not allow artificial sweeteners in soft drinks, so they use stevia instead. In fact, it accounts for 40% of the Japanese sweetener market.

Source

That site is is worth a look, the man is on point

reply to post by rationalgaze


The effects of your diet never become "normalized." They do perpetual damage. Just because you don't feel it as much as you used to, doesn't mean your body has grown immune to it. More importantly you WOULDN'T want your body to get used to it. All those headaches and feeling sh**** are your body's natural warning bell going off. "Hey, enough, Jesus!"

I used to, as most sloppy vegetarians are proned to being, a huge junk food addict. All processed stuff. And if you just start slowly assimilating raw fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds into your diet, you can wean yourself in a a few weeks.

If you do it slowly and progressively you won't even crave all the crap your so used to. And carrying a bag full of (sack full of nuts?) almonds is just as easy as a candy bar or any equivalent. They say it takes the average American 3 months with a COMPLETELY ORGANIC AND RAW to fully wean oneself of the addiction of processed sugars, white flour, and yeasts. Wild stuff.

[edit on 15-10-2007 by DeadFlagBlues]

Originally posted by anhinga



Didn't know it being a topic of CTC last night, it's on too late in my area (2am) to ever get to listen to the show.

the interviewee was a Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby, MD, MB ChB, PhD
see www.alternative-doctor.com...#


there's many stations that carry C2C over the net...streaming

my local one is WRNN, they stream the program from 1AM-6AM nightly
bet you could get a station that airs the show at a time convienent to you

thanks deadflagblues, GYBE rock btw.

I hate to be used as an example like this, but i've often found myself in this position. Call it terminally bad parenting, i guess.

Thanks for the pointers everyone. starred and flagged.

Oh, you got me -- forgot that was a GY!BE song, Deadflag!

I started another thread on microwave foods, including a top ten
list why to throw it out, I didn't realize how poisonous that thing is,
I haven't used on in probably over 15 years. . . .

Originally posted by rationalgaze
thanks deadflagblues, GYBE rock btw.

I hate to be used as an example like this, but i've often found myself in this position. Call it terminally bad parenting, i guess.

Thanks for the pointers everyone. starred and flagged.

Haha. I'm from the same place. I'm from the west side of the valley... I come from a mac n' franks dinner 3 days a week family too. Hahaha..

And yeah.. Godspeed is a hell of a band. Nothing makes you feel more of a creep than a late night drive listening to their records. And I'm all about being a creep.